One week after the final dual meet of their season, the wrestling team has been hard at work getting ready for the EIWA Championships. The championships, which start on March 2 in East Stroudsburg, Penn., will showcase the top wrestlers in each weight class from the league's 14 teams. Those wrestlers who win their respective classes will advance to the NCAA tournament, held from March 15-17 in Auburn Hills, Mich.
The Lions finished their season on Feb. 17, when the team broke even in a doubleheader in Cambridge, Mass. Columbia defeated Ivy rival Harvard 27-16 that Saturday only to come up short against Bucknell, 17-16. The win over the Crimson put the Light Blue in a tie for second place in the Ivy League, and the Lions ended the season with a 3-5 record against EIWA opponents, 7-5 overall.
Since returning from Cambridge, the team has been entirely focused on the tournament that lies ahead. Head coach Brendan Buckley first gave his wrestlers three days off last week to recover from the season. He followed with a series of intense practices between Wednesday and Friday, and on Sunday the team simulated a tournament-style competition.
The players wrestled each other in the morning, taking a break for a few hours, only to return to the mats for more competition. With just three days to go before the trip to East Stroudsburg, Buckley has made sure to prepare his wrestlers both mentally and physically for the tournament.
"We're in top physical condition," he said. "Everyone's weight is under control. We've studied a lot of video, and now it's just time for the guys to put it in their heads."
Columbia is currently seeded third among EIWA teams, tied with Lehigh and situated behind league leaders Cornell and Navy. Despite suffering five losses to EIWA teams this season in dual meets, Buckley is confident that the tournament setting will benefit the team.
"We've proven we're a good tournament team," he said. "I think we're a much better tournament team than a dual meet team."
Buckley points out that several wrestlers on the team, such as 174-pound senior Matt Palmer and 184-pound senior Justin Barent, have had high-scoring performances in the individual weight classes. Because each weight class at the EIWA championships is an individual tournament, the wrestler that eventually wins the class receives a significant amount of team points. The Lions have been successful in several tournaments this year because they have been able to place in the top three in several classes, accumulating team points in the process. Earlier in the season, Columbia won the Keystone Classic tournament in Philadelphia as well as the New York State Championships in Buffalo.
"We have some guys who can really score a lot of points and win the tournament," Buckley said. "We've just been able to get on a roll in a tournament setting, and when that happens, it's fun."
Buckley noted that the nearly two-week period before the tournament has also been important to the wrestlers because it has allowed them to forget about any losses during the season and only focus on the championships ahead.
"The great thing about this tournament is that everyone starts on a clean slate," he said. "I definitely believe everyone on our team has the ability to place high and qualify for the NCAA tournament. That would be a remarkable accomplishment, and I think it is possible."
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